1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a waste reduction process for wood fingerjointing operations.
2. Description of Prior Art
In many wood processing operations pieces of wood are generated which are too short for direct use as an end product. These short blocks are processed in such a way that as a result they are glued together end to end to make long pieces which may find use as a valuable product. This operation involves several processes and are collectively referred to as fingerjointing in the industry.
One of the activities in fingerjointing is to ensure each short block of wood has acceptably square ends prior to gluing end to end. As each block of wood moves down a conveyor they come into contact with a fixed mechanical fence which is angled to cause each block to shift position for alignment to a trim saw which trims the end of the block assuring an acceptably square end. In the process of setting and locking the fence position to fix the amount of trim taken on each block, the operator wants to minimize the frequency of having to deal with blocks that are so far out of square that the trim taken was insufficient to create a square end. As a result industry practice is to take a predetermined amount of trim off all blocks of wood even though only a very few blocks are actually out of square and need the full trim taken.
Considering the value of timber as both a commercial product and a natural resource, it is the objective of the present invention to provide a process for fingerjointing wood for which there really is no focused prior art. Specifically, the present invention has as its objective the following: To provide a new trim reduction process which reduces unnecessary trim on individual wood blocks to be used for fingerjointing thereby increasing profits and/or lowering prices, while at the same time conserving a valuable natural resource.